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Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. LTE Network Reference Model
III. LTE Protocol Stacks
IV. Traffic Flow on the LTE Network
V. Closing
This document provides a brief overview of the LTE network architecture as the first technical document
of “LTE” area. First, the LTE network reference model is defined and its basic Evolved Packet System (EPS)
entities and the functions of each entity are described. Next, the interfaces between the EPS entities and
the protocol stack across the interfaces are described. Finally, how user traffic is delivered across the LTE
network is explained for Internet service.
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LTE Network Architecture: Basic
Abbreviations
AS Access Stratum
BSS Business Support System
CDR Charging Data Record
DL Downlink
DRB Data Radio Bearer
E2E End to End
ECM EPS Connection Management
EMM EPS Mobility Management
eNB Evolved Node B
EPC Evolved Packet Core
EPS Evolved Packet System
ESM EPS Session Management
E-UTRA Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access
E-UTRAN Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network
GTP GPRS Tunneling Protocol
GTP-C GTP Control
GTP-U GTP User
HSS Home Subscriber Server
IP Internet Protocol
LTE Long Term Evolution
MAC Medium Access Control
MME Mobility Management Entity
NAS Non Access Stratum
NRM Network Reference Model
OCS Online Charging System
OFCS Offline Charging System
OSS Operations Support System
PCC Policy and Charging Control
PCEF Policy and Charging Enforcement Function
PCRF Policy and Charging Rules Function
PDCP Packet Data Convergence Protocol
PDN Packet Data Network
QoS Quality of Service
RLC Radio Link Control
RRC Radio Resource Control
RRM Radio Resource Management
S1-AP S1 Application Protocol
SCTP Stream Control Transmission Protocol
SDF Service Data Flow
SN Sequence Number
SPR Subscriber Profile Repository
TEID Tunnel Endpoint Identifier
UE User Equipment
UDP User Datagram Protocol
UL Uplink
X2-AP X2 Application Protocol
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LTE Network Architecture: Basic
I. Introduction
This document presents the LTE network architecture as the first technical document of “LTE” area. The LTE
network called Evolved Packet System (EPS) is an end-to-end (E2E) all IP network; EPS is divided into two parts
- LTE part which deals with the technology related to a radio access network (E-UTRAN) and EPC part which
deals with the technology related to a core network. An E2E all IP network means that all traffic flows – from a
UE all the way to a PDN which connects to a service entity – are transferred based on IP protocol within EPS.
In order for LTE services to be provided to a user over the LTE network, an E2E LTE network reference model
(NRM) is generally comprised of three additional domains - BSS/OSS domain for subscriber, application
domain for providing services, and IP transport network domain for sending IP packets – in addition to basic
EPS domain. The scope of this document is focused on the basic EPS domain. Other EPS domain features, such
as the architectures for LTE interworking with 3GPP/non-3GPP and roaming, are out of the scope of this
document and will be described in other technical documents later.
The remainder of this document is organized as follows. In Chapter II, the LTE network reference model is
defined and the EPS entities and interfaces are explained. Chapter III will describe the protocol stacks and then
Chapter IV will explain traffic flows over the LTE network.
Figure 1 shows an LTE network reference model, consisting of LTE entities (UE and eNB) and EPC entities (S-
GW, P-GW, MME, HSS, PCRF, SPR, OCS and OFCS). A PDN is an internal or external IP domain of the operator
that a UE wants to communicate with, and provides the UE with services such as the Internet or IP Multimedia
Subsystem (IMS). In the following, Table 1 and Table 2 show the functions of the LTE and EPC entities. Table 3
lists the reference points of the LTE network reference model and gives a description of interfaces between
EPS entities.
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LTE Network Architecture: Basic
E-UTRAN EPC
HSS PCRF
Diameter Diameter
(S6a) (Gx)
GTP-U/X2-AP
(X2)
S1-AP
(S1-MME) MME
GTP-C
eNB (S11)
GTP-U GTP-U/GTP-C IP
LTE-Uu (S1-U) (S5) (SGi) PDN
UE eNB S-GW P-GW
Entity Description
UE A UE connects to an eNB over the LTE-Uu interface.
An eNB provides users with the radio interfaces and performs Radio Resource Management
(RRM) functions such as dynamic resource allocation (scheduler), eNB measurement
eNB
configuration and provision, radio admission control, connection mobility control and Radio
Bearer (RB) control and Inter-Cell Interference Coordination (ICIC).
Entity Description
An MME is the main control entity for the E-UTRAN. It communicates with an HSS for user
authentication and user profile download, and provides UEs with EPS Mobility Management
(EMM) and EPS Session Management (ESM) functions using NAS signaling. The main
functions supported by a MME are as follows:
MME NAS signaling (EMM, ESM and NAS Security)
User authentication and roaming with HSS over the S6a interface
Mobility management (paging, Tracking Area List (TAI) management and handover
management)
EPS bearer management
An S-GW terminates the interface towards an E-UTRAN. It serves as the local mobility anchor
S-GW
point of data connections for inter-eNB handover and inter-3GPP handover.
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LTE Network Architecture: Basic
A P-GW provides a UE with access to a PDN by assigning an IP address from the address
space of the PDN. The P-GW serves as the mobility anchor point for handover between 3GPP
and non-3GPP. It also performs policy enforcement, packet filtering and charging based on
the PCC rules provided by a PCRF. The main functions supported by a P-GW are as follows:
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LTE Network Architecture: Basic
Reference
Protocol Description
point
An interface for the control and user planes between a UE and an
E-UTRA E-UTRAN (eNB). The signaling connection over the LTE-Uu is the
LTE-Uu (control plane and RRC connections represented by Signaling Radio Bearers (SRBs),
user plane) and the user plane connection is the logical channels represented
by Data Radio Bearers (DRBs).
An interface for the control and user planes between two eNBs. It
is used during X2 handover and/or for Self Organizing Network
X2-AP (control plane)
X2 (SON)-related functions. X2-AP protocol is used in the control plane
GTP-U (user plane)
and a GTP-U tunnel per bearer is provided for data forwarding in
the use plane.
An interface for the user plane between an E-UTRAN (eNB) and an
S1-U GTP-U
S-GW. It provides a GTP tunnel per bearer.
An interface for the control plane between an E-UTRAN (eNB) and
S1-MME S1-AP
an MME.
An interface for the control plane between an MME and an S-GW.
S11 GTP-C
It provides a GTP tunnel per user.
An interface defined between an S-GW and a P-GW for the control
plane and user plane. The S5 interface provides a GTP tunnel per
bearer for the user plane and GTP tunnel management (creation,
GTP-C (control plane)
S5 modification and deletion) per user for the control plane. For inter-
GTP-U (user plane)
PLMN, however, an S8 interface is used instead. The S8 interface is
out of the scope of this document and will be described in other
LTE interworking document to follow.
An interface for the control plane between an HSS and an MME. It
S6a Diameter
exchanges user subscription and authentication information.
Sp Diameter An interface for the control plane between an SPR and a PCRF.
An interface for the control plane between a PCRF and a P-GW. It
Gx Diameter transfers policy control and charging rules from the PCRF to the P-
GW to support QoS policy and charging control.
Gy Diameter An interface for the control plane between an OCS and a P-GW.
Gz GTP’ An interface for the control plane between an OFCS and a P-GW.
An interface for the control and user planes between a P-GW and a
PDN. The IETF-based IP packet forwarding protocols are used in the
SGi IP
user plane while DHCP and RADIUS/Diameter protocols are used in
the control plane.
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LTE Network Architecture: Basic
Based on the EPS entities and interfaces defined in Chapter II, the LTE protocol stacks for the user plane and
control plane are described in Chapter III.
Figure 2 shows the user plane protocol stacks for the LTE network reference model shown in Figure 1. The
functions of the key layers of the protocol stacks are briefly described below.
Application Application
IP IP IP
MAC MAC L2 L2 L2 L2
PHY PHY L1 L1 L1 L1 L1
UE LTE-Uu eNB S1-U S-GW S5 P-GW SGi PDN
GTP-U GTP-U
UDP UDP
IP IP
L2 L2
L1 L1
eNB X2 eNB
1) LTE-Uu interface
PDCP: The PDCP protocol supports efficient transport of IP packets over the radio link. It
performs header compression, Access Stratum (AS) security (ciphering and integrity protection)
and packet re-ordering/retransmission during handover.
RLC: In the transmitting side, the RLC protocol constructs RLC PDU and provides the RLC PDU to
the MAC layer. The RLC protocol performs segmentation/concatenation of PDCP PDUs during
construction of the RLC PDU. In the receiving side, the RLC protocol performs reassembly of the
RLC PDU to reconstruct the PDCP PDU. The RLC protocol has three operational modes (i.e.
transparent mode, acknowledged mode and unacknowledged mode), and each offers different
reliability levels. It also performs packet (the RLC PDU) re-ordering and retransmission.
MAC: The MAC layer lies between the RLC layer and PHY layer. It is connected to the RLC layer
through logical channels, and to the PHY layer through transport channels. Therefore, the MAC
protocol supports multiplexing and de-multiplexing between logical channels and transport
channels. Higher layers use different logical channels for different QoS metrics. The MAC
protocol supports QoS by scheduling and prioritizing data from logical channels. The eNB
scheduler makes sure radio resources are dynamically allocated to UEs and performs QoS control
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LTE Network Architecture: Basic
2) S1-U/S5/X2 interface
GTP-U: GTP-U protocol1 is used to forward user IP packets over S1-U, S5 and X2 interfaces.
When a GTP tunnel is established for data forwarding during LTE handover, an End Marker
packet is transferred as the last packet over the GTP tunnel.
Figure 3 shows the control plane protocol stacks for the LTE network reference model. The functions of the
key layers of the protocol stacks are briefly described below.
NAS NAS
RLC RLC IP IP IP IP IP IP
MAC MAC L2 L2 L2 L2 L2 L2
PHY PHY L1 L1 L1 L1 L1 L1
UE LTE-Uu eNB S1-MME MME S11 S-GW S5 P-GW
X2-AP X2-AP
SCTP SCTP
IP IP
L2 L2
L1 L1
eNB X2 eNB
IP IP IP IP
L2 L2 L2 L2
L1 L1 L1 L1
MME S6a HSS MME S10 MME
IP IP IP IP IP IP
L2 L2 L2 L2 L2 L2
L1 L1 L1 L1 L1 L1
P-GW Gx PCRF P-GW Gy OCS P-GW Gz OFCS
1
A simple example for packet forwarding over GTP tunnel is described in Section IV.
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LTE Network Architecture: Basic
1) LTE-Uu Interface
NAS2: NAS protocol performs mobility management and bearer management functions.
RRC: RRC protocol supports the transfer of the NAS signaling. It also performs functions required
for efficient management of the radio resources. The main functions are as follows:
- Broadcasting of system information
- Setup, reconfiguration, reestablishment and release of the RRC connection
- Setup, modification and release of the radio bearer
2) X2 interface
X2AP: X2AP protocol supports UE mobility and SON functions within the E-UTRAN. To support UE
mobility, the X2AP protocol provides functions such as user data forwarding, transfer of SN
status and UE context release. For SON functions, eNBs exchange resource status information,
traffic load information and eNB configuration update information, and coordinate each other to
adjust mobility parameters using the X2AP protocol.
3) S1-MME interface
S1AP: S1AP protocol supports functions such as S1 interface management, E-RAB management,
NAS signaling transport and UE context management. It delivers the initial UE context to the eNB
to setup E-RAB(s) and manages modification or release of the UE context thereafter.
4) S11/S5/S10 interfaces
GTP-C: GTP-C protocol supports exchange of control information for creation, modification and
termination for GTP tunnels. It creates data forwarding tunnels in case of LTE handover.
5) S6a interface
Diameter: Diameter protocol supports exchange of subscription and subscriber authentication
information between the HSS and MME.
6) Gx interface
Diameter: Diameter protocol supports delivery of PCC rules from the PCRF to the PCEF (P-GW).
7) Gy interface
Diameter: Diameter protocol supports exchange of real-time credit control information between
the P-GW and OCS.
8) Gz interface
GTP’: GTP’ protocol supports CDR transfer from the P-GW to the OFCS.
2
It, although not one of the protocol layers that form the LTE-Uu interface, is described here for the sake of convenience. The
NAS layer of a UE communicates with its counterpart of an MME through the radio link and over the LTE-Uu interface.
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LTE Network Architecture: Basic
Figure 4 shows the flow of user plane traffic accessing the Internet in the LTE network reference architecture.
Figure 4 (a) shows the traffic flow from a UE to the Internet and Figure 4 (b) shows one from the Internet to a
UE. IP packets are forwarded through the GTP tunnel over S1-U and S5 interfaces. These GTP tunnels are
established per EPS bearer when a user is attached to the LTE network.
More than one EPS bearer is established on each of the S1-U and S5 interfaces. So, in order to identify these
bearers, a Tunnel Endpoint Identifier (TEID) is assigned to the end points (UL and DL) of each GTP tunnel
(When identifying a GTP tunnel, a TEID, IP address and UDP port number are used in general. Here, however,
for convenience of description, only a TEID is used for this purpose). The receiving end side of the GTP tunnel
locally assigns the TEID value the transmitting side has to use. The TEID values are exchanged between tunnel
endpoints using control plane protocols
When a GTP tunnel is established on the S1-U interface, the S-GW assigns a TEID (UL S1-TEID in Figure 4(a)) for
uplink traffic and the eNB assigns a TEID (DL S1-TEID in Figure 4(b)) for downlink traffic. The TEID values of the
S1 GTP tunnel are exchanged between the eNB and the S-GW using S1AP and GTP-C messages. Likewise when
a GTP tunnel is established on the S5 interface, the P-GW assigns a TEID (UL S5-TEID in Figure 4(a)) for uplink
traffic and the S-GW assigns a TEID (DL S5-TEID in Figure 4(b)) for downlink traffic. The TEID values of the S5
GTP tunnel are exchanged between the S-GW and the P-GW using GTP-C protocol.
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LTE Network Architecture: Basic
When a user IP packet is delivered through a GTP tunnel on the S1-U and S5 interfaces, the eNB, S-GW and P-
GW forward the user IP packet by encapsulating with the TEID assigned by the receiving peer GTP entity. In
uplink direction, the S-GW builds a one-to-one mapping between an S1 GTP tunnel (UL S1-TEID) and an S5 GTP
tunnel (UL S5-TEID) to terminate the S1 GTP tunnel and forward the user IP packet into the S5 GTP tunnel.
Likewise in downlink direction, the S-GW builds a one-to-one mapping between a S5 GTP tunnel (DL S5-TEID)
and a S1 GTP tunnel (DL S1-TEID) to terminate the S5 GTP tunnel and forward the user IP packet into the S1
GTP tunnel. In figure 4, the procedure through which each EPS entity forwards Internet traffic flow is as
follows:
3
For DRB, refer to the technical document, “LTE Identification III: EPS Session/Bearer Identifiers”
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LTE Network Architecture: Basic
V. Closing
The LTE network architecture has been presented as the first document of the “LTE” technical document
series. The LTE network architecture explained in this document applies to a LTE only network provided by a
single operator and thus has covered the most basic components of the EPS system. To be able to move on to
other LTE technical documents that follow, fundamental understanding of the entities and interfaces of the
EPS system is required. The next technical document, consisting of three companion documents, is another
basic LTE document and will discuss the LTE identification applied to the LTE network reference model. These
basic documents would be helpful in better understanding of subsequent documents, which will discuss more
advanced functions of the LTE architecture including LTE interworking and roaming.
References
[1] 3GPP TS 36.300, “Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) and Evolved Universal
Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN); Overall description; Stage 2”.
[2] 3GPP TS 23.401, “General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) enhancements for Evolved Universal
Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) access”.
[3] Magnus Olsson, et. al., SAE and the Evolved Packet Core – Driving the Mobile Broadband Revolution,
AP, 2009.
[4] NMC Consulting Group Confidential Internal Report, “E2E LTE Network Design”, August 2010.
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LTE Network Architecture: Basic
99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13
eMBMS/Mobile IPTV
CDN/Mobile CDN
Transparent Caching
BSS/OSS
Services Cable TPS
Voice/Video Quality
IMS
Policy Control/PCRF
IPTV/TPS
LTE
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